National Association for
Community College Entrepreneurship Moves Entrepreneurship Forward by Engaging
Community Colleges to Join New Presidents
for Entrepreneurship Forum

Springfield,
MA – May 17, 2012 -- The National Association of Community College
Entrepreneurship (NACCE), the nation’s leading organization
focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges, has announced
that six Ohio community colleges community colleges have joined its new Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum.
Through the program, presidents of community colleges throughout the country
commit to increase the focus on entrepreneurship at their institutions and the
impact these colleges have on the economic well being of the communities they
serve.

With the economy still lagging in many regions
of the United States, more than 170 community colleges throughout the country
have joined the entrepreneurship forum, and by doing so, have committed to
playing a greater role in stimulating economic development in the communities
they serve.

Ohio community college officials joining the
forum are: President O’dell Owens of Cincinnati State Technical and Community
College in Cincinnati; President Cristobal Valdez of Edison Community College
in Piqua and Greenville; President Kevin Boys, Southern State Community
College, serving Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland counties;
President Roy Church and Provost Marcia Ballinger, Lorain County Community
College in Elyria; and President Laura Meeks, Eastern Gateway Community
College, serving Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

About
the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum

The Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum is in
response to the Obama Administration’s Startup
America call to action to stimulate economic growth state by state by
encouraging entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. NACCE is a founding
affiliate of the Startup America
Partnership, an alliance of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs,
corporations, universities, foundations, and other leaders.

According
to NACCE Executive Director Heather Van Sickle, the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum is a way for community
colleges to advance entrepreneurship and create jobs across the country.

Community college presidents who join the Forum make five commitments:

• Develop transparency of
community college and community assets

• Create internal and
external teams dedicated to entrepreneurship

• Increase entrepreneurs’
engagement in community colleges

• Engage in industry cluster
development

• Create broad exposure to
their college’s commitment to entrepreneurship.

"The
five commitments were developed based on NACCE’s observations of what was
working best on member campuses,” said Van Sickle. "After observing the
entrepreneurship-related activities of our members over a period of years, we
started to see commonalities among the more successful institutions,” she said.
"One of the major things that clearly makes a difference is the commitment by
leadership to entrepreneurship. "The initiative is in response to the Obama
Administration’s Startup America call
to action to stimulate economic growth state by state by encouraging
entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. NACCE is a founding affiliate of
the Startup America Partnership, an
alliance of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs, corporations,
universities, foundations, and other leaders.

About
NACCE

The National Association for Community College
Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is an organization of educators, entrepreneurs, and
distinguished business development professionals providing quality programs and
services in entrepreneurship education and serving as advocates for
"entrepreneurship movement.”

Through membership, an annual conference and
exhibition, a quarterly journal, monthly webinars and podcasts, a dynamic
list-serv, and other resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemination
and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding
entrepreneurship education and student business incubation. These programs and
courses advance economic prosperity in the communities served by its member
colleges.

For more information about the Presidents
forEntrepreneurship Forum, or to
join NACCE, visit http://www.nacce.com. Follow
NACCE on Twitter at @NACCE and like the NACCE – National Association for
Community College Entrepreneurship page on Facebook.